About Amani Centre for Street Children
For a child living on the streets, finding a safe place to sleep can change tonight.
But changing the rest of their life takes much more.
Amani Centre for Street Children works with vulnerable and street-connected children in Tanzania, helping them move away from dangerous situations and toward a safer, more stable future.
That journey might begin with an outreach worker building trust with a child on the street. From there, Amani can provide a safe place to stay while helping the child recover physically and emotionally. Education helps them begin looking toward the future again.
But Amani doesn't want its children's centers to become the final destination.
Whenever it can be done safely, the goal is family.
Finding Children Where They Are
Amani's work often begins on the streets of Moshi, Arusha, and Singida.
Its outreach workers regularly visit places where vulnerable children live or spend their time. Building trust is especially important because many of these children have already experienced situations where adults have hurt or disappointed them.
So the relationship isn't forced.
Outreach workers spend time talking with children and getting to know them. Eventually, a child may become comfortable enough to accept Amani's help and leave the street.
That's when a different kind of journey can begin.
A Safe Place to Be a Child Again
Children arriving at Amani may have experienced homelessness, hunger, exploitation, neglect, or abuse.
They need more than a bed.
Amani's residential centers provide temporary shelter where children can receive consistent care while social workers determine what should happen next.
A child who hasn't eaten properly can begin regaining strength. Someone who has fallen far behind in school can start learning again. Counseling can help children process difficult experiences, while sports and play give them something equally important—the opportunity to simply enjoy being a child.
The purpose is to create enough stability for healing to begin.
Education Opens the Next Door
Living on the street can interrupt a child's education for months or even years.
Returning directly to a traditional classroom isn't always realistic.
Amani therefore operates an accelerated education program that helps children rebuild foundational skills and prepare to return to formal schooling.
That support can continue long after a child leaves an Amani center.
Once children return to their families, Amani may continue helping them through school and eventually into vocational training or higher education.
The goal isn't merely getting children off the street.
It's helping them build a future that makes returning there less likely.
The Destination Is Family
One of the most important things to understand about Amani is that it doesn't consider itself an orphanage.
Amani believes children should grow up within safe and loving families whenever possible.
Its social workers therefore search for parents or extended family members who may be able to welcome a child home. Sometimes an aunt, uncle, or grandparent wants to care for the child but needs help making that possible.
In those situations, Amani can continue supporting the family while the child returns home.
That approach has helped the organization reunite more than 2,500 formerly homeless children with families.
Creating a Future Beyond the Street
Amani began in 2001 when three Tanzanians came together to create a home for street children.
As the organization grew, its understanding of the problem grew with it.
Providing shelter was important, but lasting change required going deeper.
Today, Amani combines street outreach with temporary care while helping children heal and continue their education. Its social workers search for safe paths back to family, while additional programs address circumstances such as severe abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and the need for temporary foster care.
Everything points toward the same destination.
A child who once lived day to day on the street gets the opportunity to belong somewhere again and begin imagining what comes next.
At the heart of Amani is the belief that rescuing a child from the street is only the beginning. Lasting change happens when that child can heal, return to school, rediscover stability, and ultimately grow up surrounded by the safety and belonging of family and community.
